BDO@ASCO June 2, 2024: A Prostate Cancer Breakthrough for Black Men – BlackDoctor.org
BDO is currently covering the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL from June 1-June 3, 2024. Be sure to follow along with each of our articles titled “BDO@ASCO.”
This new drug combo could be more effective for Black men with advanced prostate cancer
New clinical trial research presented at ASCO investigates the effectiveness of a specific drug combo (apalutamide, abiraterone acetate, and prednisone) in treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) for both Black and white men.
A previous study called ACIS examined this drug combo, but there weren’t enough Black men participating. To address this gap, this study called PANTHER specifically recruited Black men with this specific advanced prostate cancer to see if the treatment worked as well for them as for white men.
The study included Black and white men with mCRPC who hadn’t taken similar medications before. They received the drug combination for up to two years. Researchers tracked how long it took for the cancer to worsen and how long the men survived overall.
A total of 43 Black men and 50 white men participated in the study. The treatment appeared beneficial for both races, with Black men showing slightly better results. A greater proportion of Black men had a positive response to the treatment based on a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Additionally, a higher percentage of Black men remained alive after two years without their cancer worsening compared to white men (61% vs 38%). The same trend held true after three years, with a higher survival rate observed in Black men (68% vs 50%).
The study suggests that this drug treatment may be effective for Black men with mCRPC. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and understand why Black men seem to respond slightly better. It’s important to remember that this is a preliminary analysis, and further follow-up is necessary. Additionally, the men stopped taking the study drugs after 2 years and switched to standard care, so the long-term effects remain unclear.
To come: Improving care for Black patients and families during cancer treatment and at the end-of-life
